All language subtitles for Great.White.Gauntlet.2026.1080p.WEBRip.x264.AAC5.1-[YTS.GG - YTS.BZ]

[Narrator] Off Australia's
wild southern coast

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lies a battleground
forged by wind,

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waves,

and time.

A remote granite rock,
home to one of Australia's

largest seal
and sea lion colonies,

and a shadow that
stalks them from below,

the white shark.

-Whoa [bleep], hello!

[Narrator] What happens
when 600 pounds of agility

and intelligence meets
two tons of speed and power?

Prepare for nature's
ultimate showdown!

-What is that?

[Narrator] 17 miles off the
coast of South Australia,

a research team
close in on the remote

cliffs of Greenly Island.

-So what's the weather
looking like for the trip?

-Well the forecast today is
going to be very good,

but in the next few days,
I think we're going to get

some strong winds, and yeah,
it's not looking great.

-Well, that is
South Australia.

I mean, this is
essentially the only

rock between
us and Antarctica, so...

-That's right.

-...even a bit of
wind and a bit of swell,

and it gets pretty
rough and rolly.

-Yeah.

[Narrator] Lauren Meyer
and Charlie Huveneers have

been studying the predators
that live along Australia's

exposed southern
shores for over a decade.

Battling freezing seas,

they've tagged
over 200 white sharks,

shedding light on
the movement of one of

the most elusive
hunters in the ocean.

[Lauren] Despite their size
and how charismatic they are,

and their numbers,
there's still a lot

we don't know
about white sharks,

and that's because they're
deceptively hard to study.

[Narrator] Ocean nomads,
they can roam up to

80 miles a day and
clock up thousands every year.

Only coming together at
a string of offshore islands

stretched along
South Australia's coast.

[Charlie] Many areas
where these white sharks

are are actually
really remote and

also really
open to conditions.

So it's not uncommon
to get five-meter swell,

sometimes we get 10-meter
swells, 30, 40 knot winds.

These are not easy
conditions to work in.

[Narrator] In recent years,
fishermen have reported

an unusually large
number of white shark

sightings at
one of the most remote

of these
southern islands, Greenly.

Are the sharks gathering
here to battle it out with

the island's seals
and sea lions?

The team have a 4-day
weather window to find

a white shark, fit it
with an onboard camera,

and uncover
what's going on.

-Lauren, Lauren,
are you seeing this?

There is lots
of food here.

Big sea lions, big seals,
this place looks great.

[Lauren] I can see
a lot of pups, too.

If I was a white shark,

I wouldn't want
to be anywhere else.

[Narrator] Joining Lauren
and Charlie on the expedition

is fellow shark
expert Adam Barnett.

An expert on
predator-prey relationships,

this is Adam's first visit to
these hostile southern waters.

[Adam] I mean, it's cold,
which I don't like,

it's windy,
which I don't like,

rough seas,
it's choppy,

you've got to work in
that thing makes you

feel a bit seasick,

everything about it
is not that fun really,

except for the animals
you're actually working

on are fantastic!

[Narrator] As the boat
lays anchor in the lee

of the island, the
team gather to analyze

what they know about
this battleground.

-So here is
Greenly Island.

It's a 168-hectare
basically granite mountain

that sits right here on
Australia's continental shelf.

And we think our seals and
sea lions are going to be

clustered here on
this northern side,

right in this bay,
because it offers great

protection from some
of these prevailing

southern winds and the big swell
that, that comes from that.

Now we don't know much
about the surrounding waters,

but we do know
is that these seals

and sea lions have to leave
the island to go out and

forage in the deep sea, and
we think that that might be

where they're getting hit.

[Narrator] Around the world,
white sharks are known to

target seals
and sea lions.

Their thick blubber,
which allows them to thrive

in these cool
southern waters,

is full of
fat-rich protein.

Ideal energy-rich
food for white sharks.

[Charlie] In some
other locations,

like in South Africa,

we're used to
seeing this very

impressive breaching
behavior where white sharks

will launch from about
20, 30 meters deep all the

way to the surface to
try and catch these seals,

which will end up
in this massive

breaching out of the water.

But we very, very
rarely see that.

I've been doing
work in South Australia

for about 15 years,

and I'm still yet to
see a breach on a seal,

so the white sharks
around here must be

doing something different,
but what that is,

we don't know.

[Narrator] Right now, it's
breeding season on the island,

and with seal and sea lions
numbers at their peak,

the team's hunch is
that the sharks could be

targeting them as they
come and go from the haul out

zones spread along
the north shore.

But to find
out how, and where,

they need to catch a
shark and fit it with

an onboard camera.

-We've heard
from fishermen,

this is a really common
spot for white sharks,

so if you've got
a lot of prey here,

they're gonna have
to run that gauntlet

to go out and feed.

-It will also be
interesting to see what

the white sharks are doing,

and whether they're
using any specific habitat

to help them
ambushes the seals to

increase their
predation success.

-Yep.

[Narrator] To try and
catch a white shark,

the team start
baiting the water.

-The guys here are using
a bit of burly, or chum,

and a couple
of pieces of bait,

and we've got a really
good slick on the surface,

and the reason we're using
this is because sharks

have an incredible
sense of smell,

they really, really
sensitive to it,

so as a shark
swims around and

encounter that
kind of smell corridor,

it will start honing towards
the source of the smell,

which is us,
so that we can attract

the shark towards us,
and hopefully catch one.

[Narrator] While the
slick does it work and

with no time to waste, the
team head inshore to observe

the island's seals and
sea lions at close quarters.

[Lauren] Even at this
small stretch of coastline,

we're seeing you know,
30, maybe 40 seals, and

even a few sea lions,
which is really cool to

have both species
in the one spot.

And it's, it's hard to tell,
because if you're not up close,

they just blend
in and look like rocks.

[Narrator] At
this time of year,

the island's population
of long-nosed fur seals

swells to several hundred.

Holding their breath
for up to 11 minutes,

and reaching depths
of over 700 feet,

they forage for fish
and squid in the deep.

Fast and agile, these
formidable hunters are

still dwarfed in size by
the island's other residents,

the Australian sea lion.

These big males can
weigh over 600 pounds.

Armed with sharp teeth,
sea lions can roam over

100 miles on
their fishing trips.

Spending up to
seven days at sea,

before they return
to shore to rest.

[Lauren] It looks like
they're just kind of

faffing around and
playing in the shallows,

which seems kind
of care-free, but

it slopes off so
quickly here that you know

if you don't want
to get attacked from a

white shark from below,
you don't want to

be leaving the
shallows unless you're

going out for a reason.

[Narrator] Two p.m. and
the slick does its job.

A shark has followed
the scent trail to the

back of the boat.

[Slavko] You
receive Charlie?

[Charlie] Yep,
receiving loud and clear.

-We've got a shark on
the stern of the boat.

[Charlie] Amazing,
coming straight in.

Oh, he's there!

Bring that rope in closer.

-When we got
back to the boat,

it wasn't quite the
shark we were expecting.

It wasn't
our white shark;

it was a mako.

[Narrator] Close cousins
makos and white sharks

are regional endotherms.

That means,
unlike most sharks,

which are cold-blooded,

makos and whites
can use specialized

blood vessels to keep
certain parts of their

bodies warmer than
the surrounding ocean.

It makes both species
capable of incredible

bursts of acceleration.

But when it comes to prey,

whites and makos have
very different quarry.

-Makos aren't
engineered to go after

seals and sea lions;

everything about a mako
is engineered for speed.

They have these really
thin, narrow, kind of

fork-like teeth, which
makes them perfectly

adapted for catching
quick-moving fish.

[Narrator] To see this
notorious fish hunter here

on Greenly Island
raises some questions.

Is this island just
hosting a battle between

white sharks,
seals, and sea lions,

or are other battles going
on hidden beneath the waves?

[Narrator] To find
out who's hunting who,

the team need
to the hook the shark

and take some
valuable samples.

[Charlie] I
think we're on!

Yep, head shakes.

-We'll pull him out.

-Watch out.
-Yep.

[Narrator] This is a huge
opportunity for the team.

[Lauren] I've been working
with sharks out here for

more than 10 years,
and I think that's the

third mako I've ever seen.

[Narrator] Safely secured
alongside the boat,

the team work fast.

First, they attach
a satellite tag.

Designed to stay
for up to two years,

the tag will reveal the
location of the shark every

time its fin
breaks the water.

It should reveal if the
shark is hanging around

the island or
just passing through.

Next, Lauren takes a
small tissue sample.

The stable isotopes
inside will reveal

what this young
mako has been eating.

Samples gathered,
the shark is released

back into the wild.

-That was so exciting
to catch a mako.

I wasn't really
expecting it.

I mean, we're out here
looking for white sharks.

They're such
a beautiful shark,

but we know so
little about them,

even less really
than our white shark,

so to manage to
catch one and secure it

on the boat so we
can get a sat tag and

biopsies means we
start to understand where

they're going and what
they're eating and if they're

competing for the same
resources as the white sharks.

[Narrator] To see what
other sharks have been

drawn to this island.

-Activating.

[Narrator] Charlie releases
an acoustic listening station

from the ocean floor.

-Where is it?

-The listening
stations work by picking

up the really small,

quiet pings that
our tags send out.

[Narrator] Every time a
tagged shark comes within

1,600 feet of a
listening station,

its name, time,
and date is logged.

-We have an array of
listening stations all

around Australia
and across the world,

and that makes them
the perfect tool for

tracking a mobile and elusive
predator like a white shark.

-Go it!

[Adam] That's
always a relief.

[Lauren] Nice.
[Charlie] Winning!

[Narrator] With 12 months
of data stored on it.

[Lauren] Got it.

[Narrator] It could help
reveal which white sharks

are coming here, and
whether they're targeting

the seals and sea lions
during breeding season

when their numbers swell.

[Lauren] Off we go.

Download time.

I want to put this down
because it's giving me the

heebie jeebies, actually.

[Narrator] Back on the boat,

the team start
analyzing the data.

-Alright, 11 tags heard.

-Okay.

-So one is, that's
10 shark, yeah,

quite a few
sharks actually.

-Oh wow.

-353637.

[Narrator] Of the
200 tagged white sharks

in Charlie and
Lauren's database,

10 have visited
Greenly in the past year.

Some of them traveling
as far as Western Australia

to get here.

A journey of
over 1,500 miles.

-That was there
for one morning

and never again.

This one here is
maybe a tiny bit longer.

Four days, or
three days really.

-Yep.

[Narrator] But none
of them stuck around

for more than a week.

It's a surprise
for the team.

With so many seals
and sea lions here,

they thought the
sharks would be hanging

around for far longer.

[Lauren] It's interesting
because there's so much

food here and there's
no reason for them not

to hang around, right?

You've got plenty
of pinnipeds to hunt,

that are there
basking on the island,

and you know,
we've seen seabirds.

We've yet to get
down below the surface,

but there's tons of
fish life here and rays,

all of which should be on
the menu for white sharks.

[Adam] When was
the last hit?

-Well, let's
have a quick look,

and the last detection
that we get was actually

only five days ago.

[Adam] Oh...
[both] Okay.

-So I mean,
they could be here.

-The other thing
to keep in mind is that

for every tagged shark,
there's whole bunch that

we haven't tagged
yet, either.

-Yeah, true.

-So there could
be many more that are here,

but we don't know about.

[Adam] Yep.
[Lauren] Yeah.

[Narrator] As dusk falls,
shark tracking and surveillance

expert Richard Fitzpatrick
sends up a drone on a

reconnaissance flight.

If sharks are attacking
seals around the island,

this is the time they're
most likely to do it.

[Adam] He's risking it.

-Not if he's getting
out the water!

[Narrator] W hite sharks
are perfectly evolved

to hunt at dusk.

A reflective layer behind
their retina amplifies

all available light,
allowing them to see up to

10 times better than humans
in low light conditions.

Their eyes are also
highly sensitive to

contrast in motion,

making them particularly
quick to spot any prey

silhouetted
at the surface.

[Lauren] I mean, with the
sunlight at this angle,

if you're a seal in the
water, it would be really,

really tricky
to see below you,

and white sharks with
that counter-shading

and that dark back, I mean,
they'd be impossible to see,

so you know, this time of
day is, is when I'd expect

to have
potentially predations.

[Narrator] But as they
survey the coastline,

there's a distinct lack
of seals and sea lions

in the water.

-Most of the seals
are out of the water.

There's only a couple
that are in the water,

and they're very, very
close to the shore.

[Narrator] Do the seals
and sea lions know this

is the most dangerous
time to be in the water?

And have they adapted
their behavior as a response?

[Lauren] When it's
dawn and dusk,

those really
low light conditions,

that is not the time to be
in the water if you're a seal.

You can't
really see down;

it's going to give
sharks the upper hand,

and with sharks being
as quick as they are,

it's absolutely
not worth it.

[Adam] Well, I'll be
curious to see what

happens at night.

There's that whole thing
about white sharks being

visual hunters,
that's the theory,

I mean, do the seals like
go back in the water at night?

-I don't know.
-Well, let's see.

I mean, it would
be great to find out.

[Narrator] As the team
continue to patrol the area,

another pattern emerges.

-Oh yeah, now
that you can see them.

-You can see them all.
-There's 20 to 30 there...

-Yeah, there's heaps,
look at them.

[Narrator] With most
of the island dominated

by steep cliffs, the
seals and sea lions seem

to be concentrated at
two major haul-out zones

on the northern
side of the island.

-There's a little one.

-Two little ones.
-Cute.

-Yeah, there's
a few little ones.

-Yeah...

-It's like an
apartment block for seals.

[Lauren] It doesn't look
like there's many spots

for these seals and
sea lions to actually haul out,

so if there is going to
be an area for conflict,

I reckon it's
going to be right in here,

right where those seals
and sea lions are coming

off the rocks.

-And that's pretty
interesting because I mean,

we can just basically
camp here and look at

this area where they
come and go from,

and the rest of the island,

well, they can't
get up the cliffs.

[Charlie] If you were a
shark looking for seals,

you'd be in this bay.

[Adam] Yeah.

[Narrator] Day two
of the expedition,

and with winds picking up,

the team step
up their attempts

to catch a white shark.

-This is a
smart drumline,

and the way it works
is with this little pin.

When a shark grabs
this hook and takes it,

it will pull this pin out,
and this device is going to

send us a signal
directly to our phone.

That means we can leave
this our 24 hours a day

and fish all
through the night,

and as soon as
we have a shark on,

we'll know about it...
ready to go, Charlie?

[Narrator] With
three lines set,

next they turn their
attention to mapping the

terrain in front of the
two main seal haul-out areas.

[Lauren] Martina, launching.

[Adam] Launching.
[Lauren] Away.

[♪ intense music playing]

[Narrator] Too
dangerous to dive,

they use a remote
operated vehicle to

explore what's underwater.

-There's a sea lion
just checking

out the ROV just right
there, that's pretty cool!

[laughs]

Oh, he's playing around it.

[Adam] Yeah.

[Charlie] He might
try to bite it!

[Adam] Leave it alone,
though, please.

-Not quite the predation
we're looking for.

[Narrator] Mapping the
first haul-out zone proves

how clever the
seals and sea lions are.

A protective wall of kelp
along the shore gives way

to a shallow plateau
of sand behind the boat,

stretching more than
90 feet out to sea.

Against such
a white background,

the shark's counter-shading
would actually work against it,

making it incredibly
visible to any seals

watching it
from the surface.

-Shark would have
to be cruising right on

the bottom across that sand
to actually be down low enough,

I still think it
would be seen by a seal

if it was looking down.

[Narrator] At the
second haul out site,

900 feet east
along the coast,

conditions underwater
are very different.

Here, within
feet of the shore,

the kelp-covered rocks
drop steeply into the deep.

-Alright, yeah, so you can
see it's shallow hard up

against that rock,

but it does drop
off pretty quickly.

It drops off
to 10 meters or so,

which I'm guessing a white
shark could come in, come in

in like 10 meters,
would it, Charlie?

[Charlie] Yeah, easily,
we've seen white sharks

super shallow, so
that's really why these

seals were against
the rocks last night,

and they weren't coming
any further because as soon

as they go 10, 15, 20 meters
away from the rocks,

they'll be
vulnerable to predation

from a white shark.

-So, based on this,
they could be ambushed

anywhere along
this area here.

[Narrator] It's a far
more vulnerable location,

and a perfect site to put a
camera tag on a white shark.

But before they
can explore further,

the weather worsens,
and they get an alert

from the smart line.

As they pull the line
up alongside the boat,

it's big, but
it's not a white shark.

It's a bronze whaler.

-These sharks are
really exciting because

you don't see many of them
at these offshore islands.

[Narrator] Coastal specialists,

around the world,
bronze whalers are best

known for their targeting
of big bait balls.

Often seen hunting alongside
other requiem sharks,

they can gather
in huge packs.

Using their amazing
agility to target

the fast-moving fish.

So what is one doing here,

at this seal
and sea lions island?

[Adam] Total is 270.

[indistinct chatter]

[scientist] Total 270.

-I think they'd really struggle
to catch even a small seal,

even when they
get to this size,

they might have
the speed for it,

but they just don't have
the teeth or the jaw strength,

I don't think, to get through
something quite that size.

Uh, but I don't know.

They're a hardy
shark, I mean,

they might go for
just about anything!

[Narrator] With the weather
worsening by the minute,

the team race to take
valuable tissue samples.

The stable isotopes inside
could reveal what this shark's

been eating and
why it's come all the way

to Greenly Island.

[Lauren] There we go.
[Charlie] He's swimming.

Yeah, the conditions are
horrendous, it's horrible.

The swell is not getting in,
but the wind certainly is,

makes it really tricky,
picks up the boat,

we're drifting a lot,
the weather is terrible,

it's raining as well, but
we've finally got a shark,

not the species we wanted,
but still a shark.

A good size.

Nearly 3 meters.

So good practice session
for us and the team.

Now we just need
to get a white shark.

[Narrator] Day three
of the operation,

and with two
fish-hunting sharks tagged,

but still no white shark,
the team take advantage of

a break in the weather to
begin a 24-hour surveillance

of the island to
try and find one.

Scores of baited
underwater cameras

are deployed right
around the island.

While a constant watch
is set up to monitor

the two seal and
sea lion exit points.

Meanwhile, Lauren heads
to a neighboring island

to learn about the
white shark's opposition...

It's breeding season
right across the islands

of South Australia,
and at this time of year,

the big male sea lions
carve up the coastline

into their own
separate territories.

Dirk Holman has been
studying Australia's seals

and sea lions for
more than a decade.

And has a healthy
respect for their speed,

cunning, and aggression.

-The important thing is to
just move really carefully

through this colony,
if you see one looking

at you, just sort of get
low and move quietly away.

With the adults,
there's going to be

chunked-up boys
like that one.

[Lauren] Yeah, ok.

-They will be
defending females and

guarding females,
so they will show interest

in, in scaring you away,
but they won't pursue

you so much,
whereas the females...

[Lauren] Yep.

[Dirk] ...may lock on to you
and decide to chase you.

[Lauren] Yep, retreat.

[Dirk] Retreat, but
if you have to, run.

[Lauren] Run.
[Dirk] Yeah.

[Lauren] Like run, run?
[Dirk] Run, run.

[Lauren] Okay.

-Put some
distance between you,

and then hopefully
they'll lose interest.

[Narrator] As
they circle the island,

Dirk conducts a census
of seal and sea lion numbers...

[Lauren] So are these?
[Dirk] ...two subadult males.

[Lauren] Two subadult males,
just trying to...

[Dirk] Just being teenage
boys essentially.

[Narrator] While Lauren
tries to avoid being bitten.

[Dirk] Actually, we
might go up here now.

[Narrator] The females
move steadily to and

from the island
on foraging missions,

keeping their strength
up for their weening pups.

which they stash in rocky
crevices around the island.

-They're never
fully switched off.

[Lauren] Yeah.

-They're, even in
this shallow water,

I guess it's hardwired
into them so much that

they're constantly
scanning for predators.

[Narrator] Despite
their vigilance,

Dirk has witnessed
a number of shark, seal,

and sea lion interactions.

Particularly during
breeding season.

[Dirk] You know, sharks
aren't stupid, they...

[Lauren] Yeah.

-...they know when
something is happening,

and you know, they'll,
they'll be patrolling,

and any animal
that's, that's not

vigilant or not
switched on runs the risk,

but you know,
these animals have

it hard-wired in
them from, from birth;

they've, they've got their
strategies that we saw before

with the, the
constant scanning...

[Lauren] Yeah.

-You know, they forage
along the, the sea floor.

[Lauren] Yeah, so
they're not sitting up high

in the water column?

[Dirk] Yeah, not
just waiting for that

ambush predator.

[Narrator] He's even
seen them mobbing sharks,

and some in the team's
photographic database

show the signs of seal
and sea lion attacks.

-It just shows how long
they've evolved together...

[Lauren] Yeah.

-...is that they know
exactly what they're doing.

[Lauren] Yeah, this animal,
like, they're not novices;

they've been doing it for,
for millions of years, um...

[Lauren] Especially the adults,
I mean do you think the

smaller ones are more
vulnerable because they're just

not really
as switched on?

[Dirk] It's a bit of a mix,

the pups and that obviously,

are more vulnerable because
they're not as experienced,

but then it seems to be skewed
that the, the females,

adult females have a higher
incidence of shark bites...

[Lauren] Oh really?

-That's probably
related to the fact

that they're
doing more trips.

[Lauren] Yeah, okay.

-So when they've
got young pups,

instead of going
to sea for seven days and

coming back and traversing
that shoreline once or twice...

[Lauren] Yep.

-They're doing like a
day trip or a 12-hour trip.

[Lauren] Okay, yep.

-And then they're coming
back to nurse their pup.

And then doing
a two day trip, so...

[Lauren] They really
having to run that gauntlet.

-That gauntlet,
multiple times so that...

[Lauren] Interesting.

-So it's probably skewed
just through exposure.

[Narrator] With the
seals and sea lions making

so many more journeys
to and from the shore,

this would be the optimum
time for a white shark

to hunt at Greenly.

But as the footage
pours in from the

underwater cameras,
no big sharks are seen.

Just a host of fish and rays,
which might explain the

presence of the mako and
bronze whaler at the island.

And as the stakeout
enters the night,

the team uncover evidence
of just how smart

the island's seals
and sea lions really are.

Flying a thermal drone over
the two seal haul-out areas,

the warm-blooded seals and
sea lions light up like beacons.

[Charlie] Seems like
slightly lower number

than what we had
during that day.

-Yeah, definitely.
[Lauren] Yeah.

-So that would mean
that they would have

left just potentially
after sunset,

because we did a
count just before sunset,

and the count
was still pretty high.

[Adam] Yeah, 70.

[Charlie] But now it's
obviously pretty dark,

and there's still
a few seals there,

but a lot
less than before.

-There's a lot less.

-Yeah, I mean, this is the
spot where we had like,

20 all kind of
piled up on each other.

What we found was that
while the numbers kind

of slowly built
throughout the day,

and we had a lot on the
island at dawn and dusk,

as soon as night fell,

our seal and sea lion
numbers dropped right off,

and that suggests that
they're using the cover

of darkness to sneak
off the island out of the

reach of waiting sharks
to go out to forage.

[Narrator] Day four
of the operation,

and the team's
luck finally changes.

The unmistakable
outline of a white shark

enters the bay.

[Narrator] Able to detect
the delay it takes odor

molecules to reach one
nostril before the other,

it doesn't take the shark
long to home in on the

source of the scent trail,
the back of the boat.

[Charlie] Suddenly, we
heard this big noise from

the back with somebody
screaming, "shark, shark."

-And this time
it was the white shark

we were after.

[Narrator] At
over 10 feet long,

it's more than capable
of taking down the

island's seals and sea lions.

While the boat crew keep
the shark distracted,

the scientists prepare
to try and catch the shark

and deploy
their camera tag.

[Lauren] It's right there,
it's on the big white float.

[scientist] Roger
that, visual on that.

[♪ intense music playing]

[Lauren] Yep, got it.

-Alright,
motor's off, guys,

you're clear to fish.

[Charlie] Come on, baby.

Take the bait.

[Lauren] Oh, there it is,
it's here, off the front,

off the front.

-Yep, he's getting
interested in the bait now,

guys, watch the rope...

It's being cautious...

[Adam] Take the
bait for god sake...

[Charlie] It's really
interesting to see how

weary they are, like
they are still, you know,

there's obviously been
a lot of burly around

for the last few days,
there's baits there ready

for the taking, and
it's still just circling

around it and not
actually going for it.

[Narrator] After 10
minutes of circling,

the shark finally
takes the bait.

[Charlie] Head shake.

There you go.

Let's go.

[Narrator] The
shark's so powerful,

it drags the
buoy under the water.

Using all their strength,
the team are able to reel

the shark in.

[Lauren] It's coming
around the back.

[Narrator] But disaster
almost strikes,

as it gets the line wrapped
around the boat engine.

[Adam] Stay away
from that engine!

[Charlie] Boat hook,
it's around the engine.

[Narrator] If they
don't free it fast...

[Lauren] Boat hook's here.

[Narrator] The line might be
cut on the sharp propellers.

[Charlie] We're good,
we're good, we're good.

-MV Rodney Fox,
MV Rodney Fox,

good news,
we've got a hook up.

Let's see how it goes
with the tagging, over.

[Adam] Engine's clear.

[Narrator] With
the shark now hooked,

the team's job is to
secure it alongside the boat

so they can
deploy all their tech.

[Charlie] [Bleep], hello.

[Lauren] ...moving
around, Charlie.

[Adam] Here it comes, it's
coming in, it's coming in.

We haven't got
much rope here.

[Charlie] Go.
It's all yours.

[Narrator] With the shark
not giving up the fight,

it takes all of the team's
strength to secure it.

[Charlie] Good work, guys.

[Narrator] The
clock is ticking....

[Lauren] So once we
got the shark secure,

we really threw our
whole toolbox at it.

I mean, we started
with a muscle biopsy so

that we could learn what
that animal's eating.

Then we attached
a satellite tag,

which will let us follow this
shark around any time the fin

breaks the surface,
anywhere it goes.

-What we've got
here is a fin-cam,

which is basically
going to be recording the

behavior of the shark for
wherever the shark is going,

and if we get lucky,

we might even
get a predation and

understand the strategies
that these white sharks

are using to hunt the
seal around Greenly Island.

If everything goes to
plan, this will release

in about five days,
pop to the surface,

and then we only
have to recover it.

[Adam] It put up
a bit of a fight,

but the fight
was nothing extreme.

It was more the actual
weather conditions that

wear you down
because you're trying

to put tags on things,

you're trying to control
these animals and you're

trying to do it in
a way that don't hurt

the animal either,
you're trying to be as

fast as possible and
as welfare as possible but

when you've got this
slapping of waves and stuff

and you're head's down
in the thing, it's painful

to actually do it,
do it that way.

Give me a clear day any
time to actually deal

with these big animals.

[Narrator] Final
piece of equipment on,

it's time for release.

-Finally!

That was tough,
well, everything,

like how hard
it was to get one.

The weather that we had to
brave to, to stay here,

the doubt that we had over
four days of nothingness,

finally getting one,
and it was actually quite

tough as well, but
the team was awesome,

we got everything we
need done and more,

so pretty happy right now.

Yeah, now we just have to
wait for the data to come in.

[Lauren] Oh, such a
relief, oh my goodness,

I honestly, I didn't
think after the few days

we had that we were
going to get one so,

to not only get a shark,

but to actually
secure it and be able to

get muscle biopsies,
multiple tags on,

a fin camera all on
one individual like is

sensational from a
science perspective and

I cannot wait to get that
muscle biopsy back to

the lab and figure out
what she's been eating.

-Right now, I'm just
trying not to throw up so,

you can ask me later.

[Lauren] Alright, good.

All systems functioning.

[laughter]

[Narrator] Back on the boat,

Lauren races to analyze the
blood and tissues samples.

The stable isotopes
inside could reveal

exactly what this
shark has been eating.

-So we've just
gotten the results back

from the muscle biopsy,
and I'm really quite

surprised by
these results.

[Narrator] While the Mako
and bronze whaler samples

confirm they're
fish and squid eaters,

the white shark
results shock them all.

[Adam] Huh,
seals are lowest?

[Lauren] Yep.

[Adam] They're
eating less.

I wouldn't expect that.

-About 10% of
their diet is these

seals and sea lions,
which is way less than I

was expecting, and
all the way up here,

almost half of their food
intake is from that kind

of squid and open
ocean pelagic fish.

-Everybody always
believed that white sharks

primarily feed on seals,
especially the large

sharks that we get down
here in South Australia.

But once we started
looking at the result,

it turns out that
pelagic fish were a much

larger contributor
of the diet than the

seals or sea lions.

So that goes against
all the things that people

have always assumed.

-I think that's because so
many observations

come from above
the surface,

so without the ability to
really get under the water,

we're missing what 90%
of their prey items are.

[Narrator] It's a huge
breakthrough for the team,

and suddenly their
acoustic tracking data

make sense too.

[Charlie] I was surprised
that we didn't get longer

residency around this
island because you'd

expect the sharks to hang
around here to try to get

the seals, and instead
they were only here for

maybe a day or
a couple of days.

[Adam] Right, so
you've got the fishing,

not much catch, you've
got the acoustic data,

they're only here for a
couple of days if that,

and they're passing by,
and your data is showing

that they're not
eating that much seal.

I mean, they get some
obviously, and ok, if we put

that in the battleground,
we're here for looks like

the seal is actually winning
it here at this spot.

-They're certainly not
ignoring seals and sea lions;

you know, they're probably
coming into the island,

giving it a go,
and if they're

not successful,
moving on.

I mean, those prey items
are so, so difficult to catch.

That's a huge amount
of energy to spend,

but if you do catch one,

that's a huge
amount of calories,

so it's a really feast
or famine strategy

to just be going
after seals and sea lions,

it's probably why they
rely so much on something

easier to
catch like fish.

[Narrator] Five days later,
the camera tag pops off

the shark and is
retrieved by the team.

[Lauren] Nice!
[Adam] Awesome!

Yes, the relief
finding it.

[Narrator] Back on
the mothership,

they pore over the data.

-So you can see
that's obviously

the bottom that you can see.

-On the reef.

-Seems to be swimming
actually quite fast.

To me, it looks like
it's swimming along the

edge of that
steep drop-off.

[Lauren] Yeah, well,
I'm not surprised it's

not swimming over
the sand, I mean,

it would be clear as day
with that really dark body

and really
light sand patch,

so I guess that
confirms that they

are hunting in that
little reef region.

[Charlie] It's actually
quite shallow.

You can see the top of
the surface just there

and the waves breaking.

-Yeah, wow.

-Yeah, it is hunting
in those shallows.

[Narrator] Three
hours into the track,

and the shark moves
past a series of fish.

[Adam] Yeah, it's
quite interesting,

they do eat fish, but
didn't choose to actually

try and catch those ones.

Maybe those fish were
aware of the shark?

[Charlie] It's behavior
hugging the bottom so much,

going up and down,
seems to be like a

searching behavior,
so if it's searching

you'd think it would be
searching for food,

its encountering
food but not going for it,

[Lauren] Yeah.

-So it must think he
doesn't have the upper hand,

the fish is, is, is too obvious,
the fish would have seen

it before and that's
why it's not going for it.

-Or it's searching
for a particular food.

-Yeah.
-Maybe.

-You're entirely right,

while there's
fish it could take,

it's still trying to
get a seal at the moment,

and searching
for that vulnerable seal.

[Narrator] Four
hours into the track,

the white sharks
moves to the surface and

picks up it's speed.

[Adam] Oh wow,
it's taken off!

[Lauren] Whoa, what is that?

-That's a seal,
oh [bleep]!

It almost got it, it just
sort of jumped over its nose!

-It's really cool.

-The difference in pace,
it just took off.

You could barely
see it with the camera

was moving so fast.

I'm actually surprised the
camera didn't pop off

with the speed.

-Yeah.
-Yeah, wow!

[Narrator] Only in slow
motion can they make sense

of the footage.

[Charlie] What I found
really interesting is

that the shark starts
accelerating exactly

at the same time
that we see the seal.

[Narrator] All over
in a matter of seconds,

the seal escapes.

[Lauren] That's
so interesting,

it looked like the shark

really approached it
from behind, going ok,

I don't think
this seal has seen me,

I think I've got
the upper hand,

but even up
there on the surface,

they're so agile.

I mean, to get a
successful predation

must be really,
really hard.

-Yeah, it's
interesting because

we always think
they come from below,

but that was like,
like you said,

it looked like it was
coming from behind.

[Lauren] Yeah.

-But also from the surface,
at the same level,

it wasn't a
vertical predation,

it was horizontal,
it was on the surface.

It obviously wasn't using the,
the seaweed to hide underneath

it or anything like that.

-Yep.

-Presumably, it would
have been very visible

from the seal,

but somehow it still
managed to sneak up on

it and get close enough
to warrant an acceleration

to try and get it.

[Narrator] It's a huge
result for the team.

And further evidence
of how hard seals and

sea lions are to catch.

-You think at one
stage it's going to get it,

but when
you re-watch it,

it's like the seal knew
it was there almost right,

and at the very last minute
just jumped over the top of it.

And then...

[makes noise]

...zipped off, you
know, and that shows

a lot of how seals,
you think they can't see it,

but they obviously know
what's going on around them.

[Lauren] I've got a
newfound respect for seals

and sea lions.

I mean, they're not just
this big lump of blubber

that white sharks can pop up
and grab an easy bite from.

I mean, they are a very,
very smart animal,

and to get to watch
the white shark's predator

tactics versus the seal and
sea lions' predator avoidance

strategies was like
witnessing this amazing

arms race to see you know,
who had the upper hand,

and at Greenly, it looks
like for a lot of the day,

that upper hand goes to
the seals and sea lions.

[Charlie] Everybody
always presumed that where

you get seals,
you get white sharks,

and you do
get these white sharks,

but what exactly
happens between the

seals and these
white sharks is not

fully understood.